HONEYBEES MYSTERIOUSLY VANISHING

(05/15/2007)

There have been reports of mysterious honeybee disappearances across the USA. Scientists and agriculturists are looking for an answer. West Virginia beekeepers are losing bees and experiencing lower than normal colony populations. Beginning in late 2006, a number of beekeepers in states across the country began to notice that worker bees who left the hive to pollinate surrounding fields and crops did not return. Colonies were left with only the queen and young bees not yet old enough to work outside of the hive, they said. It is called colony collapse disorder, or CCD, and is mysterious because scientists so far have been unable to pinpoint exactly why honeybees are vanishing. There is considerable concern over what a future without honeybees would be like since agriculture, as we currently know it, could not continue without honeybees to pollinate crops. Some beekeepers have reported losing up to 50 percent of their bees to CCD. There is not a single cause responsible for all of the reported cases of loss in West Virginia. There is a problem with enough nutrition. Honey is usually produced in the spring, early summer and again in later summer, and is a food source for the bees. Mites also contribute to loss.

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